Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the show, characters, or whatever else is referenced here.
'Wow, I really love this story! Only three chapters? Why didn't she write more? Hmm... Should I bother her? It's been eight months since she updated it... Why not? The worst thing is she ignores me,' a 13 year old Taichi thought to himself as he clicked the private message button on Izumi-Chan's profile.
To: Izumi-Chan
Subject: About your story
Hello there. I would like to ask you about your story, it's been months since you last updated your Christmas story. I was wondering if you were planning on updating it. I really like the pairing and would like to see more from this.
*EIGHT YEARS LATER*
As it turns out, his life changed for the better after sending that message. One thing lead to another and their friendship grew over time to them dating each other. They both knew that the other lived in Japan, just not how close.
Or rather, Koushiro doesn't know how close. Taichi found out actually pretty quick when they entered high school that they were only across town from one another. And as they went to college, he learned that they both applied to the same school. He just never told Koushiro any of this. The fear of coming out has plagued his mind and made his brain go into panic mode. He wanted to be truthful to him, but didn't know how to break the news without hurting his boyfriend at the same time.
Their usual method of talking, especially near the end of high school when he finally got his own laptop, was Skype. Video call dates became the norm for them, where they screen share a movie and watch it together or make/order the same food and pretend they are at opposite ends of the table. It was fun, but after five years of doing this, it began to wear on them and they both were ready to actually have a real date.
"So, how is your schedule treating you this semester?" Koushiro asked while on his bed.
Taichi was at his desk, "Its been a hassle. Coach has also been riding my ass, if you know what I mean." He winked at Koushiro.
He rolled his eyes, "Just what I like to hear, my boyfriend is cheating on me with a older man."
"Hey, he is only nine years older than me."
"I hate you sometimes."
"Don't worry Koushiro. I wouldn't cheat on you," Taichi said. He really did love Koushiro and felt bad for not going out with him for real by now. "So, what's your plans for the evening?"
"It's actually not due until next Friday, but I just want to get this stupid project done. Then I can have more free time with you. I'll probably order a pizza and get my assignment done after a while."
"It's a shame there are no good pizza places near our college, otherwise I would probably do the same."
"Yeah, I think the closest one that's above average is the one I wor..." Koushiro stopped as the words that Taichi said began to play in his head . "... hold on. Near 'our' college?"
Taichi realized his mistake and goes wide-eyed, "Oh... shit."
Koushiro glared at Taichi, "What do you mean by our college?"
This was not the way Taichi wanted his boyfriend to find out the truth. He looked away and sadly told the truth."I... I kind of figured out that we lived in the same area... while we were still in high school. Before we started dating actually. And I didn't mention where I went to college because I learned that we were going to be at the same one. "
Somehow Koushiro looked more angry at Taichi than before."So... what you are telling me that all this time, we were in the same city? And we could have met up at any time?"
"...Yeah," Taichi started tearing up. The anger and pain in Koushiro's voice is hurting Taichi a lot.
"Then why didn't you say anything before? I could have actually came to your games... is that why you don't have any picture of yourself playing?" Koushiro was also tearing up. "Not to mention we could have actually had real dates and not this Skype crap. And-."
"Koushiro, I know what I did was a stupid mistake!" Taichi interrupted. "I just... well, I've told you about my family. My sister knows, but my mom and dad... I know they wouldn't approve. And I'm not ready to come out."
"I swear Taichi... I will never understand your brain." He composed himself and dried his eyes. "That still doesn't mean we couldn't have met. I can be inconspicuous if we wanted. You know how it was with me too, all my friends are online only besides Jou."
I'm sorry Koushiro." Taichi was still sobbing.
Even though that he had every right to be angry and is still a little upset at Taichi, seeing him cry made Koushiro incredibly sad as well. He knew that Taichi was still worried about coming out and decided to take pity on his boyfriend. "Please don't cry, dummy. Tell you what... If you want, come over tomorrow. We can order some take-out, eat it in my apartment and watch a movie. It will be like what we usually do except we can actually cuddle. Jou basically lives in the library thanks to his classes. We can have a nice night in and hang out for the first time. How does that sound?"
"That sounds... really nice actually." Taichi said smiling, his eyes still damp.
"AWESOME!" Koushiro exclaimed and Taichi giggled. His boyfriend was naturally adorable, but when he gets happy like this, his cuteness goes off the scales to him. "Thank you so much Taichi!"
"Quit being cute, it's not fair."
He gave his boyfriend a pretend angry look, "You lost all your privileges to complain about that when you admitted to me that we could have met in real life this whole time."
"But I have to wait until tomorrow to actually see you," Taichi pouted.
"And to think, you could have seen me for the past five-ish years. Something tells me that you can wait an additional 24 hours," Koushiro stuck his tongue out.
BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK
Taichi got next to no sleep that night. There was a storm of emotions brewing inside of him. Anxiousness of getting to see him for the first time. Happy that they would finally get to meet off Skype for a date. The fear of him not liking Taichi. He was lucky he didn't have early classes as his brain let him get a few hours of sleep at 5 A.M.
After he did wake up and went to class, the day passed by very slow. The already boring class he was barely passing seemed to be hours longer than normal. He got back to his dorm and started getting ready for the night.
They decided to meet up at 4:30 at Koushiro's apartment. After a quick train ride, and short walk, he found himself being 20 minutes early. Taichi gave him a call, assuming that it was no problem to be early.
Two rings later, Koushiro answered, "Hey you. What's up?'
"Just got to your apartment."
"... You're here? Right now?"
"Umm... Is there a problem with me being early?"
"Yes! Just... give me five minutes... give or give a few."
"Did you just say... give or give?"
"YES! Now I'm going to hang up."
"Ok-" Taichi didn't get a chance to finish as he heard the line go dead.
Around ten minutes later, the door suddenly opened, showing Koushiro with what looked like wet hair. Taichi took advantage of him catching his breath to take a picture of him on his phone.
"Was that necessary?"
"Of course, you look really adorable with your hair damp."
"Haha, well, all you have to do is show up 20 minutes early and make me rush to get dressed." Koushiro smiled and gave his boyfriend a huge hug, which was happily returned. After being friends for the past 8 years, finally getting the chance to meet each other was amazing. He buried his face into Taichi's chest and sighed happy.
"Hey, if I was a half hour early, would you have let me joined?" It was amazing how quickly he was able to kill the romantic mood. Koushiro rolled his eyes and let the other go. He should have seen this coming, it was just Taichi's humor.
"Just come inside before I change my mind about tonight's plans."
"Thanks," He took off his shoes and walked into the living area. "This place is spotless. Whoever does the cleaning here is a miracle worker."
"Shut up," Koushiro giggled. "My room is not that bad... well... fine, yeah it is. We usually just use this room for family visits. Don't worry, Jou does most of the cleaning and cooking."
"Aww, no make out sessions on your bed?" Taichi gave him a pouty face.
"I'm still mad at you for making me wait to meet up. You're lucky if you get more than just a kiss on the cheek," Koushiro stopped and thought for a moment. "Well, if you don't mind being in my room..."
"NO! No, I'm good, never mind... Anyway, what did you have planned for the evening?"
"I was thinking of ordering some Chinese. We can talk about school honestly now, the schedules and see when we could hang out more. After that, I want to watch a movie and really in need of some long awaited cuddling." Koushiro smiled at Taichi, grabbing a to-go menu and the landline.
"Sounds great!"
The two of them spent the next couple hours right next to each other, just relaxing and enjoying the presence of the other. Taichi felt incredibly stupid for not doing this sooner. Having their boyfriends right next to them was almost therapeutic.
They accomplished a lot over the next three hours. Finding a schedule that would allow them to hang out quite a bit over the next month was easier than Koushiro thought. He was also amazed at how Taichi managed to get it so his classes didn't match up with his, no wonder they never saw each other. Eating was enjoyable, with many failed 'Koushiro, please feed me' attempt from Taichi.
After they were done and cleaned up, the pair moved to the couch in the living room and Koushiro picked out a movie that he wanted to watch. Taichi groaned when he found it was an American imported 'chick flick'. He was told that a friend in America loves this movie and recommended it, about this girl who gets dumped because her ex deemed her too dumb. So to try and win him back, she studied to try and get into the same law school he was going to, only to find that he was actually not worth her time. Taichi sat on the couch with his arm around Koushiro, who was leaning on Taichi.
An hour in, Taichi admitted the movie was actually pretty good. The fact it was more funny than sad was probably the key factor. He was the one who started the argument about the plot, which became a not fight about the logistics about changing yourself for someone. The main character just found out that the witness was actually gay when Taichi heard his phone go off. He gave an apoligetic look and saw who was calling.
"Sorry, I'll be quick," Taichi said. Koushiro nods and reached for the remote and paused the movie. "Hey mom, now is not a good time, on a date."
Koushiro gave him a shocked look and smacked himself his forehead. How his boyfriend managed, in a little over 24 hours, to make two stupid slip-ups dumbfounded him.
There was a pause for a moment. "Wait, a date? You are on a date right now?"
"I'll explain later, please? Kind of busy."
"Okay! I'll call you back later, sorry for interrupting your date!"
The line went dead and so did Taichi's brain. "Shit..."
"Just wow," Koushiro shoved his annoyance aside as he looked at Taichi again and saw the dread on his face. He leaned over and rested his head on Taichi's head. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah I guess." Well, not if mom acts like normal."
"What do you mean?"
He rested his head against Koushiro's,"Well... either I call her back later, or she calls me... and then she will hound me on this: Who are you dating? What does she look like? How many dates have you been on with them? When can we meet her? I'm not ready for all of that, especially telling the truth to all of those."
You know this how?
Taichi actually started laughing, causing his boyfriend to move and give him a confused look. "Hehehe, the same thing happens with my sister, when she was goes out on a 'date' with 'her boyfriend'."
"They aren't dating?"
"Oh yeah, all guys suggest going to the salon and getting their hair and nails done. Then go to see a chick flick because they need a good cry. And then end the night with a just a friendly hug and kiss on the cheek, hahaha."
Koushiro tried finding the most P.C. thing to say. "Sounds like your sister's boyfriend is very... in touch with his feminine side."
"I believe the definition HE gave me was 'gayer than skittles'. Mom and dad don't realize that Hikari is just his hag, and their dates are 'girls night out' and nothing more. She doesn't feel right about outing him to them though, so they don't believe her when she says they aren't dating." He sent a smirk over to Koushiro and they both chuckled for a little bit. A moment of silence later, Taichi continued, "Which brings me back to wondering what I should do about this."
"Shouldn't you just tell her the truth?"
"I'm not ready to come out to my parents yet. I need a better plan. Hmmmmmmmmmmm... Oh! I could say that when she called, my date got upset with me and I was dumped!"
Koushiro shook his head, "I wouldn't recommend that at all, it will probably hurt her feelings if you blame her. How about that your date is shy and was... no, that won't work either. How about get a female friend to pose as your girlfriend, and then you can pretend to anger her and she dumps you?"
"I wouldn't feel right having any of my friends do that for me..." Taichi did think for a minute on that though, someone posing as his girlfriend. "However... now that you mention it."
"What?" Koushiro gave him a confused and worried look.
"I actually have an idea... Though, you might not like it..." After seeing his expression didn't change, Taichi continued, "Could you dress up as a girl and pretend to be my girlfriend?"
It was like someone slapped him across the face"WHAT? NO! WH... WHY? I'm not dressing up as a girl! What made you think of this stupid idea?"
"Well... like I said when we started dating... I thought from your profile name when we first started talking that you were a girl. And you do look kind of... not manly." He stopped when he saw Koushiro cross his arms and gave him a glare. "Did you want to say something?"
"No, I'll just let you continue to dig your grave."
"Oh... umm... so, we can dress you up as girl and make it look convincing. And let them get to know you and like you." He was Koushiro's expression get angrier, and he backpedaled. "Not that they wouldn't like you now! I just... maybe if they get to know you, they can... I mean we can show..."
"So..." He interrupted Taichi. "Dress me up as a girl, show me as 'Izumi-chan', to get them to like me as someone you are dating. And then when you are ready to come out, you can say 'hey, my girlfriend was actually a guy, remember how much you like him?' as insurance?"
A couple of seconds later, Taichi started nodding "...YEAH! That's what I mean!"
"Hmhmm, sure." He thought about this for a few minutes. Part of him just wanted his boyfriend out of the closet already. The other 90 percent says it's a dick move to make your boyfriend to come out when he doesn't want to. After some internal conflict, he settled on his answer. "Whatever, I'll do it... but you will owe me BIG for this Taichi."
Taichi started tearing up and smiled at his boyfriend pulling him into a bone crushing hug. "Thank you Koushiro!"
He started giggling and hugged back. "So, soccer captain, how will this work?"
"Umm... I don't know... actually. I was hoping you could have think something up."
Koushiro let go and gave him a play glare. "I should have known."
"Well, I could call up my sister and her 'boyfriend' for some help with dressing you up. The clothes, make-up, and maybe a wig or something."
He sighed and nodded, "... okay. Oh, by the way, I'm not paying for anything we need."
"What? But Koushiro!"
"But Koushiro nothing. Your bad idea, your money." He grabbed the remote and was about to lean back on Taichi when he saw his pout. "Don't give me that look. You're lucky that I am even going along with this plan."
"I understand."
"Now that we know how to deal with this, lets get back to the movie..." He looked up at Taichi and gave him a smirk. "And maybe... we can make out afterwards for a while."
"You're the best."
"I know."
BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK
That Sunday, after Taichi got home, he called his mom and said that him and his girlfriend will come over on Friday. She wanted to know more, but Taichi seemed to learn his lesson about letting things slip out of his mouth. Koushiro was told that on Wednesday Hikari's friend would be at his apartment and would go out shopping with him.
Koushiro heard a knock on the door and worry filled him. What exactly was this guy like? He opened the door and saw someone that looked to be around the same age as him, and about the same height.
"Heya! Sorry I'm late. And wow, you are extremely cute! The picture Taichi showed me doesn't do you any justice!" The boy said in a happy-go-lucky way, with a huge smile on his face.
"Umm... thanks. Come on in," Koushiro blushed. He knew that this boy was going to be gay, but wow. He lead him to the table and offered him a glass of water. "Are you Hikari's not boyfriend? The one that is 'gayer than skittles'?"
He smirked at Koushiro and started laughing, "Haha he still likes that description I used when I first met him I see. If you want my real name, it's Takeru and yes, I'm Hikari's not boyfriend! As much as I love Daisuke, he doesn't enjoy proper skin maintenance or a good sad movie."
"That's why you do go out with Hikari then?"
"Yups! With her I can do all the stuff Dai-chan calls 'girly'. Plus its fun to anger all the straight couples we see when we go out. I can not tell you how many times I've heard 'honey, why can't we be like that cute couple? He clearly pays attention to her needs and doesn't complain!' Its a blast!" Takeru started laughing.
"Then, do you and Daisuke do anything together?" Koushiro looked confused.
"Of course. Hikari and I don't go out that often. I sometimes just want a 'fabulous night out' and Daisuke hates stuff like that. But just because he doesn't enjoy all the same things as me doesn't mean I don't have him wrapped around my finger! I can teach you how to do that with Taichi too, if you want," Takeru winked at him and smiled. "Movies, dinners, or just a peaceful night in. Although lately, school has been killer for him and he is super busy."
"I'm sorry," Koushiro said with a sad look on his face.
"To be honest, if I went through what you did though, I would be pissed at Daisuke and probably single. You have more patience than I do obviously. But enough about me, lets focus on you! Ready to become a adorable girl?"
Koushiro deadpanned, "When you put it like that, no."
Takeru stood up and walked around Koushiro, inspecting him. "Hmm, your body hair is non-existent for the most part, so it should be easy to shave. I hate long sleeves and long dresses in summer, and hate stockings as a hole, are you okay with that?
.".. I guess?"
Takeru nods smiling, "Awesome, so that means we can go with a skirt!"
Koushiro eyes widen, "A SKIRT? I... those...!"
"Relax, nothing too short or tasteless. Just the perfect length that won't reveal anything, but will show off your legs to tease Taichi."
"Can we just focus on making it look convincing, not making Taichi want to jump me afterwards."
Takeru gave him a pouty face, "Aww, you're no fun."
"Why does everyone think that face will work on me? It doesn't work for Taichi anymore, and it won't work for you." Koushiro told, earning him a stuck out tongue. "I just want to get this past me. I don't know how many times I will need to do this but I want this experience to end with my dignity intact."
A smug expression found its way on Takeru's face. "Honey, please. You are literally going to met your boyfriends parents in drag after he begged you for like a minute. You love him and obviously don't care about your dignity."
"You are awful at cheering me up."
"Yeah yeah, sorry," Takeru said in a dismissive way. He started walking to the door and put his shoes back on. "Anyway, lets get you clothes and a convincing wig first. We can get the make-up and work on your appearance later."
Koushiro was about to put on his shoes, but he remembered something. "Wait, I don't have very much money. I was going to make Taichi pay for this crap."
"Haha, you were?" Takeru looked at him and saw him nod. "Good boy! Guess you don't need much boyfriend help after all. I'll call Hikari-chan then and tell her to meet us at the clothing store. She will get on him to pay her back. Trust me, don't get on her bad side... she can be scary." Takeru gave a scared look and shivered.
"Okay?" Koushiro said, worrying more than before about what he was getting into, and also curious as to what happened.
BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK
"Relax, you look amazing and believable."
"I just want this over with, just knock on the door."
Friday has finally came and Koushiro felt unwell the whole day. Takeru came over earlier and helped him with the make-up, and making ...other parts look real... He was confused as to HOW Takeru knew how to stuff a bra properly. He has been like this since 10 A.M., and just wanted the night to be over with.
Taichi went up to the door and knocked on it. Not a second later, the door opened and two people were looking at the couple with a smile.
"Hello Taichi. So, this is the girl that caught my son's eye? I can see why you like her," his mom said. "Will you introduce us?"
"Mom, dad, this is my girlfriend, Izumi."
"Hello, nice to meet you both, Mr and Mrs Yagami." Izumi said in his girl voice.
"Oh no, no need to be formal with us. My name is Yuuko, this is my husband Susumu."
"And its nice to too, Izumi. Please come inside." Susumu welcomed them inside. "Taichi hasn't told us very much about you."
Taichi nods, "Yeah, I wanted you to get to know hi... her, umm, personally! Not with just details I give you!"
Izumi sighed and shook his head. 'Yes Taichi, keep making stupid slip-ups. I'm sure your parents will suspect nothing...' he thought to himself. They were brought to the living room and sat on the couch next to each other while the older couple pulled up chairs across from them.
"Hikari said that she will be really late, she is helping her boyfriend with a project they have in one of their classes, and to start eating without her. Have you met Hikari yet?" Yuuko asks
"Yeah, she and her... umm, boyfriend were with me the other day." Izumi was trying not to laugh at that. Trying to imagine Takeru straight was hard to do after meeting him.
"Oh, why wasn't Taichi there with you? You could have double-dated?"
"I had school work to do mom. Unfortunately we don't really see each other too often because of it." Taichi said, still feeling that ping of guilt of making Koushiro wait for so long.
"So, how did you two meet?" Susumu asked them.
"Online." "At College." They both answered at the same time. They looked at each other with panic.
"What was that? College or online? Or both." Susumu wonders, looking confused.
"Uh... yeah! Shes taking the same classes as me, and I was having troubles with one, so I went to a online study group for help and that's where we started talking." Taichi said what quickly thought up.
"But didn't you say that you two barely meet up because of your school work?" Yuuko inquired.
"Exactly! We talk to each other online but very rarely offline!"
"But couldn't you have used the help the other day? Plus wouldn't be easier to just meet offline" Susumu pried this time.
Izumi stepped in this time, trying to stop this, "It probably would, but I'm really busy with my other personal classes and leaving my room is really difficult. Taichi said that he didn't want to bother me, because I was sick. His sister was taking me to a store to get me medicine."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Are you feeling better now?" Yuuko asks.
"Yes, thanks for your concern, umm.. Yuuko. It was just a simple cold."
Sorry, but I'm getting very hungry, is dinner going to be done soon? Taichi asked.
"Its almost done now, I'll go check on it." Yuuko said, standing up and walking into the kitchen.
"I'll help you." Susumu says as he followed his wife.
They both lean back and let out a sigh. "That was too close for me, thanks for the help. I feel like we should have prepared for this more" Taichi says drained.
"And I learned that you need to watch what you say. If I didn't know any better, I would think you told your parents already, and you have some sort of drag kink." Izumi gave him a glare.
"... Now that you mention it." Taichi gave his boyfriend a smirk.
"Oh no. You can forget it for a long time. You still owe me first, remember?" Izumi smirked back.
"Wow, Takeru has affected you already."
"I spent more than 5 minutes with him, of course he did." They both giggled.
Taichi's parents came back and brought them to the dining table.
"I hope you like curry." Yuuko said, waiting to see how Izumi would enjoy it.
He took a bite and smiled immediately. "I mean no offense when I say this, but I am a college student. I love all food that's homemade and isn't take-out and instant ramen."
Susumu stared at him shocked, "Wow, is that all you eat then?"
"For the most part. I'm actually terrible at cooking. My roommate is the one that can cook, but they are busy with classes at their school."
This confused Susumu more. "Your dorm mate goes to a different school?"
"Yeah, but we live in an apartment together."
"So, have you been to one of Taichi's games?" Yuuko inquired.
Izumi shook his head sadly and sent Taichi a quick play glare."Not yet unfortunately. You could say that I only recently found out about him playing sports. I would love to go see him, but I'm usually very busy."
"Yeah, with school and your part-time job, I'm surprised you have much free time at all." Taichi added.
"Oh, where do you work?" Susumu looked at Izumi.
"I'm a waitress at a pizza place kind of near by." Izumi wished he lied as soon as those words left his mouth. 'Did I really just pull a Taichi?' He thought.
"Wait really? Do you have a brother or something? Because we ate there a few weeks ago, and you look just like a waiter I saw there." Yuuko pondered.
"I... I... Yeah, I do! He, umm older, and wants to make sure I'm always okay. So when I got hired, he asked for a job there too." Izumi cringed, trying to fix his mistake.
"Sounds like have one protective older brother." Susumu commented and looked at his son. "Reminds us of our son, looking out for Hikari. Does he approve of you two dating?"
"Yeah, I think he likes me, as far as I know." Taichi nods, trying not to giggle at that.
Izumi giggled slightly at that too, but forgot that he had a mouthful of rice and started choking on some of it. He was able to cough out most of it, but still was trying to get the pieces of rice out of his throat for the next minute. Taichi came rushing over and started patting him on his back. Susumu rushed to get him a glass of water. No one realized during this that socks fell out of the bra Izumi had on.
"Are you okay Izumi?" Taichi asked, huge worry laced his voice.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Izumi said in his normal voiced. He coughed again and took a sip of water, trying to get back into character."Umm, sorry, my voice hurts right now."
Taichi's guilt of the situation has grown bigger over the past hour. Seeing Izumi choke on food just added to that and it began eating away at him faster than before. 'What if I was more truthful? This happened because I made a joke about the lie. This is my fault' Taichi thought.
"Are you sure you're okay though?" Susumu asked, looking at him and his wife with concern.
"Yeah, after I catch my breath I'll feel better, I'm sure. " Izumi nods.
"Umm, do you have an injury Izumi?" Yuuko asked after noticing the new lump on Izumi's side.
"No, not that I know of. Why?"
"Because you have this bump or something on your side. Was that always there?" She inquired.
"What?" He looked down and realized finally that a pair of socks had came out. "Oh, I think something came loose on my outfit. Let me go fix this." He stood up and went to go walk out of the room, trying to find somewhere private.
"Wait, Izumi. I want to talk to you about something." Taichi started saying as he went to go follow his boyfriend.
Neither had actually left the room when a fifth person came running into the same room yelling from the hall. "Sorry I'm late! Our assignment was easier that we thought though so I decided to come back-" Hikari started as she crashed into Izumi knocking both of them onto the ground and sent his wig he was wearing flying off his head. They both nursed their sore heads, and eventually Izumi found that the wig was gone.
"Izumi, why are you wearing a wig? Do you not like your hair as it is?" Yuuko asked him.
"No... I uhh... I..."
Taichi had enough at this point. "Mom, dad... look. I haven't been very truthful to everyone here. I've hurt Koushiro here, and I have been lying to you."
He helped his boyfriend and sister up off the ground and hugged Koushiro tightly, trying to get the courage to continue. "I... I'm... I'm gay. Koushiro is actually a guy. We met years ago online and started dating in high school. I found out that we lived close but I didn't tell him because I didn't want to come out yet."
Taichi gave Koushiro a apologetic look. "Very recently he found out we've been going to the same school and on our first date, you called mom. And I asked him to dress up as a girl to see if you liked... well, her, and after that it would be easier to come out to me. Hikari and one of her friends helped out with the process to make him look convincing. I'm sorry for lying to the three of you."
"It's okay Taichi. I might joke about being angry, but I have forgiven you." Koushiro said, nuzzling his cheek against his boyfriends chest.
"So, yeah. I'm gay and dating Koushiro. I understand if you don't accept this." Taichi held Koushiro tighter, scared to hear what his parents will say.
Yuuko and Susumu stared at the two of them, giving them a angry look. The younger couple looked away ashamed. They were just looking at them for the longest time, like they were stuck in their states.
Then Yuuko frown dropped and a smile was forming, Susumu let out a some chuckles. Out of seemingly nowhere, they both start laughing loudly. They both reached out for something sturdy to hold onto. This continued for a few minutes, the younger group looking at each other and to the adults in confusion.
"Hahaha, we're sorry for laug-laughing, hahaha! Yuuko finally got out.
Susumu managed to calm down sooner, catching his breath and turned to the kids. "Son, haha... I have a se-serious question. Wh-who started laughing first? Not who cracked first."
"Uh... Mom did, for both actually." He was even more confused than before.
"Shoot, really. I though I could last longer than you." Yuuko sighed.
Susumu grinned "I win."
"Just barely."
After everyone calmed down, Hikari was the one that broke the silence. "Okay, what's going on?"
"Oh Taichi, we knew you were gay hahaha!" Susumu smiled at his son.
"Yeah and sorry Izu... er Koushiro, but it was obvious from the start that you were a guy. We saw you shopping with Hikari and her boyfriend the other day." Yuuko giggled again, seeing the boy blush.
"You... YOU KNEW? HOW? Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Taichi demanded.
"Okay, so... there is this thing on computers called browsing history..." Susumu trailed of. This actually got Koushiro to laugh a little.
"You spied on me?" Taichi didn't know what to think right now.
"No, I was just wondering why the computer had a virus."
And there went Hikari, laughing at her brothers embarrassment."You went somewhere that gave you a virus, and didn't delete your browsing history?"
"Yeah he did." Susumu smirked at the blush on his Taichi's face. "To be honest with you two, we wanted to see how long it would take for you to come out to us. Didn't expect it to take until you were almost done with college, but whatever."
"Same thing with Koushiro, we kind of wanted to see how long you two would keep up this act. Sorry he made you dress up this way Koushiro. You make a cute girl at least." Yuuko giggled again.
"... Thanks. I guess." His blush growing bigger.
"Taichi, why not take him to your old room and see if you have any clothes that fit him. I'll come with to make sure you two don't do anything though." Susumu laughed at the shocked looks the boys had.
"We wouldn't around you guys, ugh." Taichi complained, walking to his room.
After Koushiro found some old things that fit him well enough, the rest of the night went well enough. Only Taichi was the embarrassed one as his parents asked them about their past, how many times they actually met and how far they have been. They also asked for Koushiro's work schedule to know when to visit him.
Hours later it was very late and they asked if they could get rides back.
"Tonight was... ugh." Taichi said, walking Izumi to his door.
"You at least looked normal."
"Yeah, but it didn't matter, they still knew."
Koushiro shot him a look, "Exactly, it didn't matter. Your parents knew and didn't care. Lets just be happy about that."
Taichi smiled, "Yeah, I guess. Are we still on for tomorrow?"
"Of course!"
They both leaned in for a quick kiss. They separated, said their good-byes and Taichi walked back to his dad's car with a smile on his face.
'I guess honesty is the best policy'
*ONE MONTH LATER*
"How are things with your parents?" Koushiro asked, sitting next to Taichi. They both were in his room this time, after weeks of constant cleaning. Getting caught by Jou during a make out session on the couch made them want full privacy.
"Well, they are getting close to not laughing when the see me now." Taichi complained as he fell backwards and closed hie eyes.
"Aww, my poor boyfriend is still getting teased by his parents." He leaned back and gave his cheek a kiss. Taichi blushed, still not used to Koushiro being forward like this."You should blush more, makes you look cute." He smirked.
"Oh hush. You look way cuter than me, no matter what you do, not just blush. That reminds me." Taichi looked at his boyfriend. "When do I get to see you dressed up in that again?"
Koushiro glared, a month was still not long enough of a wait, besides,"I distinctly remember telling you that you owe me first for even agreeing to dress up."
'Damn you Takeru.' Taichi thought. "Fine, did you have anything in mind? Want me to do the same?"
"Not exactly... I'm not sure on your feelings about..." He whispers into Taichi's ear, who immediately shot up and stared at Koushiro like he was insane.
"WHAT? WHY? How is that anywhere near close to a fair trade off?"
"You got me to dress up as a girl, and you want me to do it again. Plus I'm factoring in the 5 years of lying." He sat up and gave his boyfriend his new begging look that Takeru taught him. "Please?"
"...," Taichi shifted uncomfortably. He knew that he owed Koushiro big, especially after getting embarrassed by his parents and lying to him. But him dressing up a girl was one thing. Adding... THAT to the bedroom was another. He should have seen this coming though, remembering a story Koushiro wrote in high school. Taichi sighed, "Fine, just not our first time please?"
"Hmm, no promises," Koushiro smirked and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you Taichi."
"I love you too, Koushiro," Taichi said, pulling Koushiro closer and kissed him back.
"And to think, this all could have been ignored if you didn't lie to me," Koushiro giggled and cuddled closer to his boyfriend.
'It's my fault, I know,' Taichi thought to himself. 'But really... handcuffs?'
AN:
Okay, there is some things I want to cover with this.
This idea was actually given to me from a friend. I needed a break from the sadness that was JanMaki. He said he didn't know how to do this justice. I hope I ended up doing it for you!
The name for this was kind of annoying, It does have some... birdcage elements... :D
About Takeru... So... I... I actually hate that stereotype so much. But this was kind of fun, making him overly flaming. I totally think that both him and Koushiro are the type of guys that could both top and bottom, but are still in control when they do bottom, thus the 'I still have him wrapped around my finger' comment. I might not ham up the gay factor for a main character, but a side one, sure.
Anyway, thanks for reading everybody, and remember:
STAY AWESOME!